The Misfit

[GilesTheCleric]

With approaching finals, I'm swapping out my GMing to another member of my group for a few weeks. Ergo, I need to roll up a character. Problem is, any role we need is already covered -- cleric, duskblade, and charger warblade. So, I need to create a character who really has no role.

Since it's just a few sessions, having the character rp as a drifter or misfit seems appropriate as well. We'll be playing in a city (think Waterdeep), and are lvl 7.

What class or character concept do you think would best fit this?

[Toliudar]

You have one flavour of utility casting covered, and two striker-types melee. That's...not all the roles, as I understand it. Of course, if that's all that comes up in your game, more power to you.

A few other possible concepts:

Factotum Smuggler, focused on archery and providing the skillmonkey element and some panache.

Bard who is literally a cheerleader - someone who in combat pumps up the melee types and then does battlefield control with illusions, confusion, etc.

Archery-focused Rogue who uses a craft - armormaking, pottery, whatever you want - and a traveling wagon to cover his string of thefts at every stop.

Lockdown Crusader build - a soldier who has taken a leave of absence to look for his little brother.

Rambo - archery focused ranger who is suffering PTSD and keeps getting drawn back into a cycle of violence.

There are hundreds of concepts that could fit 'drifter' and provide something complementary to those three builds.

[GilesTheCleric]

You have one flavour of utility casting covered, and two striker-types melee. That's...not all the roles, as I understand it. Of course, if that's all that comes up in your game, more power to you.

A few other possible concepts:

Factotum Smuggler, focused on archery and providing the skillmonkey element and some panache.

Bard who is literally a cheerleader - someone who in combat pumps up the melee types and then does battlefield control with illusions, confusion, etc.

Archery-focused Rogue who uses a craft - armormaking, pottery, whatever you want - and a traveling wagon to cover his string of thefts at every stop.

Lockdown Crusader build - a soldier who has taken a leave of absence to look for his little brother.

Rambo - archery focused ranger who is suffering PTSD and keeps getting drawn back into a cycle of violence.

There are hundreds of concepts that could fit 'drifter' and provide something complementary to those three builds.

I guess clerics are a bit weak with ranged damage, and even composite bows on a str hero just don't quite cut it for real archery. These are some really good ideas; I might go for the rambo/factotum approach and build a medieval version of the sniper from Le Cercle Rouge. Except this time he won't get over his PTSD.

Does anyone else have a favourite drifter concept, or perhaps one from history/media?

[The Viscount]

Binder makes for a wonderful drifter, since most societies will reject one when they discover his or her true nature. In addition, binder can fill a variety of roles as the situation calls for them, notably UMD with Karsus, which is something this party does not have.

[Red Fel]

Does anyone else have a favourite drifter concept, or perhaps one from history/media?

Oh, drifters. They put the hobo in murderhobo, you know. Some of my favorites:

The healer. This is someone who travels from place to place, generally interfering in an attempt to make people's lives better. He is characterized by his general sense of superiority and a certain degree of arrogance, but also by a genuine compassion for the suffering of others. His reason for traveling usually stems from that compassion. Example: The Doctor (Doctor Who). The hunted. This is someone fleeing from his past. He may try to help people, or he may try to build a life - however temporary - for himself, but he is constantly seeing shadows on walls and in corners, and it won't be long before trouble finds him again. He often has a unique skill, such as exceptional strength or adaptability, and often develops a penchant for disguise. His reason for traveling stems from the fact that there really is someone - or something - out to get him. Examples: Jean Valjean (Les Miserables), Jarod (The Pretender). The cursed. This is someone traveling involuntarily. Unlike the hunted, forced to travel in order to escape his pursuers, the cursed is forced to travel by a seemingly cosmic conspiracy; events conspire to force him to move on rather than settling in one place. His reason for traveling is that the universe requires it of him. Example: Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap). The mercenary. This is someone who travels, not out of altruism, fear or coercion, but for profit. He goes where the money is. Example: Han Solo (Star Wars) (before the movies; obviously, he has a bit of a change of heart during the films).
I'm particularly a fan of the hunted, because you can do so much with that backstory, and so much with the power set. The Pretender was a perfect example - here was a person who could learn so much, and adapt to so much, that he could be virtually anybody he needed to be. Show up in town, be the hero, fade away and move on. He's like the Doctor if the Doctor wasn't an alien know-it-all powered by phlebotinum.

Now, in terms of class, that depends on the concept. Virtually anything is good for the hunted. The healer requires higher intelligence, generally, so Factotum is great for that, as is the sneaky-smart Beguiler. Warlock is great for the cursed, as is Binder, since the flavor fits so neatly. Pretty much anything is good for the mercenary, but usually it helps to be some sort of grizzly veteran. That said, if you really want to buck the trend, nobody expects a mercenary tree-hugger - a Druid or Totemist provides you with power diversity, and gives the trope a sound subversion.

[GilesTheCleric]

Binder makes for a wonderful drifter, since most societies will reject one when they discover his or her true nature. In addition, binder can fill a variety of roles as the situation calls for them, notably UMD with Karsus, which is something this party does not have.

I really like the sound of the binder, and it's a subsystem I've been meaning to check out. It even meshes well with the concept of having someone with PTSD/other illness. The bugs behind the wallpaper actually are real!


Oh, drifters. They put the hobo in murderhobo, you know. Some of my favorites:
[many examples]Now, in terms of class, that depends on the concept. Virtually anything is good for the hunted. The healer requires higher intelligence, generally, so Factotum is great for that, as is the sneaky-smart Beguiler. Warlock is great for the cursed, as is Binder, since the flavor fits so neatly. Pretty much anything is good for the mercenary, but usually it helps to be some sort of grizzly veteran. That said, if you really want to buck the trend, nobody expects a mercenary tree-hugger - a Druid or Totemist provides you with power diversity, and gives the trope a sound subversion.

There's some additional votes for factotum and binder. However, I'm also liking the idea of a totemist... Ah, so many options! What's your favourite aspect of the totemist? I haven't looked at that class in a while.

[Red Fel]

However, I'm also liking the idea of a totemist... Ah, so many options! What's your favourite aspect of the totemist? I haven't looked at that class in a while.

Basically, the Totemist is the spiritualist lovechild of a Barbarian and a Druid with slightly fewer anger management issues. My favorite aspect, very simply, is that the class is literally a beast in human form. I mean literally. It can channel the spirit, or form, or ideal, or whatever you want to call it, of the most powerful monsters, and grow all sorts of vicious weapons and abilities. And it can switch these up on a day to day basis. That's what I love about it. Want to teleport? Totemist has that. Claws, bite, tail? Totemist has that. Want to channel the freaking Tarrasque? Totemist has it, and if he doesn't have it right now he'll have it for you first thing in the morning.

This also makes him a good drifter. Like the Barbarian, he's uncivilized. Not just uncivilized; civilization is alien to him. It chokes him, suffocates him. He belongs in the wild with creatures like himself. He's like a wild beast, he can't be domesticated. He's like a plains predator, he has to stay on the move with the herd. But by the same token, he's not a beast. He can emulate them, channel their power and feel their emotion, but he's not truly of that world, either. He can't live forever in the forests and jungles because that's not the place for him. So he lives between two worlds, adrift and alone.

He's the freaking Wolverine, man. Except with a better writer.

[Dr. Azkur]

Sounds like a job for a Chamaleon Warlock

[GilesTheCleric]

[snip]

This also makes him a good drifter. Like the Barbarian, he's uncivilized. Not just uncivilized; civilization is alien to him. It chokes him, suffocates him. He belongs in the wild with creatures like himself. He's like a wild beast, he can't be domesticated. He's like a plains predator, he has to stay on the move with the herd. But by the same token, he's not a beast. He can emulate them, channel their power and feel their emotion, but he's not truly of that world, either. He can't live forever in the forests and jungles because that's not the place for him. So he lives between two worlds, adrift and alone.

He's the freaking Wolverine, man. Except with a better writer.
This sounds like the intro to some action flick XD like Yor's World or something ("Yor's world, he's the MAN!")
I made a CD sticker for Yor's World, if anyone has a disc and doesn't like the sticker on it.
Seems like the perfect character to give a cowboy hat to. And maybe a horse named Silver. Or maybe I could go the opposite direction, and name my character Friday, and have a taste for exotic foods, we'll say.

Sounds like a job for a Chamaleon Warlock
Ooh, the idea of playing a döppelganger seems like fun. Plus, it would allow me to easily insert this character as someone that the party has already met, or perhaps re-use them after my time playing as a PC ends.

[Vaz]

DFI Bard is almost always going to be good in a strong melee heavy group. However, of course, in such a group, if they're already capable of doing well without the aid of a DFI-guy then that extra damage is wasted.

A Binder can fill nearly any role, as can a Warlock. If you feel like getting in on the melee action, a Totemist from MoI can be brilliant fun, but I like it's ranged applications a little better in the midgame.

Alternatively, an Incarnate Ironsoul Forgemaster.

[GilesTheCleric]

Wow, there's a lot of love for binder. If it works well with some of the rp concepts you guys have come up with + anything I might want to add, I'm thinking it might be my final pick.

I'm torn on bard. Our charging warblade is a goliath who lays down avg. 30 damage per turn, and the duskblade in the party has been feeling pretty outshown. Making the goliath seem even better might be counterproductive, especially if he lands some crits (I gave him a special greatclub which procs an aoe that deals 1/4 of his single target damage on a crit).

What's an Incarnate Ironsoul Forgemaster? I haven't really looked at incarnum much, but I can't remember ever even hearing about this.

[Red Fel]

What's an Incarnate Ironsoul Forgemaster? I haven't really looked at incarnum much, but I can't remember ever even hearing about this.

That's two separate classes, actually.

The Incarnate, as its name suggests, embodies a single alignment - NG, NE, CN, or LN. Like the Totemist, it gets a bunch of awesome Soulmelds it can swap out on a day-to-day basis. Unlike the Totemist, whose Soulmelds are magical-monster-themed, the Incarnate's Soulmelds are based around ideals - so, for example, there are bracers designed to disrupt undead, sandals which grant flight, a shirt which protects against ability drain, and so forth. An Incarnate is a good dip or a fun class in its own right. Two factors might make it a drifter. First, Incarnum is the magic of the manipulation of soul-stuff, the materialized form of the fundamental concepts of the universe; it's not evil, but it may be misunderstood. Second, an Incarnate is inherently tied to concepts beyond mortality; being one can make settling down to live a mundane life seem almost trivial.

The Ironsoul Forgemaster is a PrC from the same book. Basically, this takes Incarnate into military applications. The Ironsoul Forgemaster is a craftsman who infuses a piece of his being into the stuff he crafts. In other words, he can boost the power of his weapons and armor the way some people boost their Soulmelds directly. It's a Dwarf-only class, though. I could see this as a drifter in the archetype of "The only thing I need in life is my sword;" a lone soldier whose war has passed, who now travels from town to town with only his armor for companionship.

[Vaz]

Ah yes. The Incarnate is an extremely versatile class you can use to do anything you really want to, depending on what you want to do that day. The Ironsoul Forgemaster is originally a Dwarf only PrC, but there are adaptations in the entry which would allow you to work with your DM to let you drop the racial and alignment requirements (because there's nothing inherently "dwarfy" other than that they're a good thematic match with typical dwarf tropes).

Essentially, its abilities include;
- Meldshaping 9/10 advancement
- Shield Bond is an Incarnum Receptacle, granting resistances against Acid/Cold/Fire/Electricity/Sonic 5 per Essentia.
- Craft Arms and Armour, with a CL = 3x Class Level, stacking with actual caster levels
- Insight to Craft (Armour+Weaponsmithing) equal to your Class Level
- Advanced Chakra bind access
- Stacking (only with Armour) Damage Reduction equal to essentia invested. This basically means take Adamantium.
- Insight bonuses to damage rolls.

If you don't mind missing out on the Heart Chakra bind (it's honestly not all that; Blink as the spell, Spell Resistance, Healing at will, Immune to Stun and Death Effects, Ethereal Jaunt Meldshaper level rounds/day duration, Immunity to 4 6th level spells (only 4!), Immunity to Energy Drain and Death Effects, DR5+1/essentia/magic (seriously!)), then pick up Necrocarnate; at ECL20 that's a Necrocarnum Zombie (intelligent, fast moving Zombies).

Stun, Death, and Energy Drain are the only really noticeable things there, and being fair, you don't need to be that much of a Mary-Sue, just use spells which grant such things, such as Elemental Body (really thematically cool, IMHO, and Air Type is insanely good, Perfect maneuverability with fly?)

The rest of your party will love you. Don't bother with the Incarnum improving feats, just take Necrocarnate as a dip, and you'll be fine for your own invested needs (even without shenanigans, just use the dead bodies left from your rampaging partners.

If I was to suggest;

Either Incarnate 5/Ironsoul Forgemaster 2, or Totemist 5/Ironsoul Forgemaster 2

Incarnate is more flexible for the party, and you get to be able to use your abilities for yourself as well. It also gives you an avenue to your party members if you desire as well, if you come across as a merchant (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1000.0) with some nice little tools for them. It also gives you a "downtime" character you can switch in and out if you decide to DM "alright boys I'm off into town, got anything you want me to get?"

"Erm, yes please, I'd like an animated shield please" says the Cleric. Of you go into town, party continues to adventure. Next time you play, Cleric's got himself a new shield, everyone's happy.

They're not hard to build either; just say what you want from it, and we can direct you to the relevant location. Sadly (in my eyes), Incarnum is not so well supported due to its late entry, there's all of about 4 additional books which include Incarnum mentions within, so there's none of the book diving which comes from playing full caster crafting (like Artificers etc). You can make it as complicated as you want, or just run it dead simple.

[KorbeltheReader]

So you need a class with no clear role, that can be level 7 and yet not already welcomed into another party, and one that looks cool at first but you'll be ready to dispense with after just a couple of sessions, eh?

Sounds like a job for the dragon shaman!

[John Longarrow]

I am partial to Pixie Beguiler-3.

You are personable, good as a scout, good with traps/locks, and best of all, INVISIBLE!!!

Just about as far from the rest of the group as possible!

[GilesTheCleric]

That's two separate classes, actually.[snip] It's a Dwarf-only class, though. I could see this as a drifter in the archetype of "The only thing I need in life is my sword;" a lone soldier whose war has passed, who now travels from town to town with only his armor for companionship.
I haven't picked a race yet, so a dwarf obsessed with existential angst and fear of the unknown, with nothing but his ancestral weapon armour seems pretty compelling. I've got a list of good soulmelds for paladins, but don't remember seeing any that deal with armour, other than fortification and some healing stuff. But maybe there's a way to go all-in on the armour concept.


Ah yes. The Incarnate is an extremely versatile class you can use to do anything you really want to, depending on what you want to do that day. [snip]
- Craft Arms and Armour, with a CL = 3x Class Level, stacking with actual caster levels
- Insight to Craft (Armour+Weaponsmithing) equal to your Class Level
- Advanced Chakra bind access
- Stacking (only with Armour) Damage Reduction equal to essentia invested. This basically means take Adamantium.
- Insight bonuses to damage rolls.[snip]
Either Incarnate 5/Ironsoul Forgemaster 2, or Totemist 5/Ironsoul Forgemaster 2

Incarnate is more flexible for the party, and you get to be able to use your abilities for yourself as well. It also gives you an avenue to your party members if you desire as well, if you come across as a merchant (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1000.0) with some nice little tools for them. It also gives you a "downtime" character you can switch in and out if you decide to DM "alright boys I'm off into town, got anything you want me to get?"

"Erm, yes please, I'd like an animated shield please" says the Cleric. Of you go into town, party continues to adventure. Next time you play, Cleric's got himself a new shield, everyone's happy.

They're not hard to build either; just say what you want from it, and we can direct you to the relevant location. Sadly (in my eyes), Incarnum is not so well supported due to its late entry, there's all of about 4 additional books which include Incarnum mentions within, so there's none of the book diving which comes from playing full caster crafting (like Artificers etc). You can make it as complicated as you want, or just run it dead simple.

Looks like the armour crafting/buffing concept would definitely work, then. I didn't mention in the OP that we have a cohort artificer. However, she has wondrous item crafting, not arms and armour. Your point about being able to leave the party easily but still remain connected is good. I'll certainly ask for help if I go with the incarnum route; I know nearly nothing about that subsystem.


So you need a class with no clear role, that can be level 7 and yet not already welcomed into another party, and one that looks cool at first but you'll be ready to dispense with after just a couple of sessions, eh?

Sounds like a job for the dragon shaman!
Lol, poor dragon shamans. I was actually talking with one of the other players about rolling up one of these, and then finding something ridiculous to use the breath weapon for, like only destroying plants or something.


I am partial to Pixie Beguiler-3.

You are personable, good as a scout, good with traps/locks, and best of all, INVISIBLE!!!

Just about as far from the rest of the group as possible!

This sounds like a lot of fun. Alas, it won't work in my group, and I'm the one to blame for that -- almost all of the important foes they've come up against have used invisibility, and one of the characters in the party has a staff which allows him to use invisibility purge. It's been a pretty consistent theme, and therefore is much weaker than it would otherwise be.

Next game. And I'll name myself Puck.

[Blackhawk748]

I love The Man With No Name concept (see almost any Clint Eastwood movie) Also i fully recommend the Binder, they are versatile, fun, and are a class with sweet RP elements. Dito for the Totemist, you could go Barbarian Totemist as i believe there is a PrC for that that is actually pretty decent.

Of course you could always be the Rogue duel wielding hand crossbows, you also open locks lol

[GilesTheCleric]

I think I have to settle on the Binder, given this last suggestion. I will admit to having seen no Clint Eastwood or John Wayne films, but I understand the concept.

Since we're level 7, unfortunately I'm only able to bind one vestige at a time. To follow with the Rambo/Jansen rp concept from above, I plan on going ranged. I'm figuring that making some dips will probably end up being best, so I'll probably only have 3rd or 2nd level vestiges. Something like this, perhaps:

binder 1/full BAB 4/knight of the sacred seal 2

So that gives me savnok's benign transposition, ronove's mage hand, naberius's take-10 diplo, leraje's ranged suite, dahlver-nar's shield self, and then mettle from KotSS 2. I'm a bit sad that vestiges are just one-at-a-time until 8, and none of the things from the improved/bind vestige are very good, except perhaps for naberius's skills.

I'll probably pick up Expel Vestige so that I can have a little bit more flexbility. Otherwise, maybe there's things similar to Intuitive Attack or Snowflake Wardance that I can pick up to give me some con/int/cha-to-bow synergy. Anyone have any suggestions on that front? I'll check out the X to Y thread in just a bit.

I'm not sold on whether improved binding would be worth it for andromalius's see invis+locate object or karsus's UMD, but maybe. UMD is pretty good.

[Blackhawk748]

Imp Binding is one of those "almost always take" feats, kinda like Tomb Tainted Soul for the Dread Necro. It almost doubles the amount of bindable vestiges with a one lvl dip. Also id go Binder 2/ Full BaB class 3/Knight of the Sacred Seal 2, as Pact Augmentation is pretty nice.

[Talar]

I vote for the bard for comedic relief type character with some helpful buffs occasionally. Also glibness fun.

[GilesTheCleric]

Imp Binding is one of those "almost always take" feats, kinda like Tomb Tainted Soul for the Dread Necro. It almost doubles the amount of bindable vestiges with a one lvl dip. Also id go Binder 2/ Full BaB class 3/Knight of the Sacred Seal 2, as Pact Augmentation is pretty nice.

That's a good point. Unfortunately, I've just realized that it wasn't KotSS that gave mettle, it was Witch Slayer. And I can't grab +5 BAB and two levels without abandoning binder entirely, so I guess that's a no-go. I'm going for a cha+dex synergy build anyway, so the KotSS 2 cha-to-AC synergy should be fine to grab. I'm just sad I can't grab mettle, but oh well.


I vote for the bard for comedic relief type character with some helpful buffs occasionally. Also glibness fun.

I was looking at bard, but snowflake wardance unhelpfully only applies to melee slashing weapons, which bows typically aren't (isn't there a bladed bow in AaEG? That's might be a little too abusive, though...). Otherwise, I definitely would have gone for this.

Edit: Okay, I'm more unscrupulous than I thought. Here's what my build is looking like:

binder 1/clr 1/rgr 2/brd 1/KotSS 2 (probably not in that order; likely rgr or brd first)
--Precise shot and rapid shot from binder and rgr.
--pick up point blank shot, travel devotion, craft wondrous item, snowflake wardance, improved binding/expel vestige, and charm the arrow
----if I can't qualify for craft with EBL 3, then i'll get a fierce bow instead, and maybe endurance->steadfast devotion
--craft slippers of battledancing
--buy yuan-ti serpent bow, and/or bow bayonets
--buy tempo bloodspikes

Race and ACFs are currently undecided. I'll probably grab cloistered cleric, though.

Edit 2: torn between human, azurin, strongheart halfling, silverbrow human, jaebrin, and uldra for race. The latter two are the most interesting and allow me to grab charm the arrow, but feats are good, too. Buyoff is allowed.

Also, to be clear, the build above uses fractional BAB.